


my world is a better place because of you

by DrJackAndMissJo



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Ambassador Sokka (Avatar), Azula (Avatar) Redemption, Domestic Fluff, Ember Island (Avatar), Established Relationship, Flameo, Fluff, M/M, Neurodivergent Sokka, Trans Zuko (Avatar), hot-man, travelling plans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 18:27:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28550130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrJackAndMissJo/pseuds/DrJackAndMissJo
Summary: Based on a prompt for the Zukka +18 Chaos Server Exchange!***Zuko has been working himself to the bone, so much that he forgets upcoming trips and events!Thankfully, he has the best husband in the world taking care of him!
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 37
Collections: Zukka 18+ Chaos Server: Jan 2021 Exchange





	my world is a better place because of you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Miss_Rust](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_Rust/gifts).



> The Original Prompt was: Zuko is exhausted because he is overworking himself, again. Sokka has had it and cancels everything for the next two days, to give his husband a breather. He tells him so before they go to sleep, so Zuko knows he doesn't have to be up early.  
> BUT I have twicked around with it because of personal reasons, instead deciding on a less possessive tone then Sokka _'had it'_ , which doesn't work with my mind because of reasons.  
> Hope you enjoy it nevertheless, Pipa!  
> 

Zuko tried to avoid getting headaches on a daily basis. Or, at least, Sokka made sure of that.

He would remind him to drink enough water and to eat, to take his hormones, to unbind after too long, before his surgery, and, afterwards, he would apply the smoothing lotion on his newly acquired scars at night, before bed. Zuko was positive that without Sokka he wouldn’t have survived his first year as Fire Lord, let alone get to celebrate ten years of peace and prosperity amongst the nations under his rule.

Not that they would’ve even won the war in the first place without him, but he tried not to boost his husband’s ego too much. Agni knew, he didn’t need Zuko’s help for that.

But it was true. Even before they started dating, Sokka was always there for him. Even when he was away, in the Southern Tribe, he could still feel his presence in everything. And then, the Accident happened, with Toph and Mai scheming behind their backs to get their respective heads out of their asses, and they finally confessed and got together.

If anyone had told scared 16 years old Zuko, who had just found out the Avatar was truly alive after three years of banishment, that in ten years he’d be married and so cheesy in love with the scrawny boy that had thrown a boomerang at his head, he would’ve sent them straight up blasting in the air with one of his fireballs. But so much had changed since then.

The only thing that truly remained unchanged for Zuko, was his hatred for surprises. Which made his friendship with Avatar ‘ _Let me just drop by unannounced straight into your bedroom as you’re sleeping’_ Aang somewhat difficult.

Zuko’s day had been normal, monotonous and filled with meetings that dragged on for way too long, just like always. Still, he couldn’t shake the tiredness off of his bones and an impending sense of doom at something he had clearly forgotten, cracking his neck from side to side before getting up from the meeting table in the council room.

One of the things he first did when he became Fire Lord, just after making sure his sister got the help she needed, was remodelling. He spent an entire month with Mai and Ty Lee modernising the various rooms, but the former war room with its original throne had been taken apart by Toph in one single day, which made the process faster and easier for everyone.

Now, he used that room, more spacious and welcoming than it had been before, to greet guests and take audiences, with Azula, fully recovered from the previous Fire Lord’s manipulation, being amongst his most trusted advisor and supervising the dismantling of the war machine their forefathers had created.

He fondly smiled at the memory of Toph sticking her foot on the cold floor and sending everything up in the air as Azula and Katara loudly cheered, while he walked back to his rooms, flocked by two Kyoshi Warriors. It had taken a year for Zuko to be comfortable around them, aided by Suki and Ty Lee and their familiarity with him. Now, however, he trusted them all with his life, knowing that they would never let him down. Suki was back on Kyoshi Island, training her new recruits, but Ty Lee still remained in the Capital, as captain of the Fire Lord’s personal guards, ready to chi block everyone who dared oppose her.

Having her as the captain, though, meant that she wasn’t always on full duty with him, which was both a curse and a blessing: he would have loved to have her around, even just to look at and draw strength from their friendship, but she had the tendency to fight every council member who as much as contradicted the Fire Lord, not to talk about those who rose their voices at him. Having both her and Azula in the same room, especially when his favourite Ambassador took part in a meeting as well, could tend to be disruptive for those who still clung to the past.

Which was his main goal, after all, but at least he was subtle about it!

Anyway, she still had more control than Sokka ever did. And he couldn’t exactly veto the Southern Tribe Ambassador from attending meetings.

Not that it mattered any more: ten years ruling and all of the late Fire Lord’s councilmen removed from the table, and the Fire Nation was flourishing.

Still, meetings were boring and tiresome and required all of his energy.

Which was why he all but sighted when he opened the door to their bedchambers, already feeling lighter at the scent of jasmine tea that permeated the air. His husband knew him well and liked to remind him every day, lest he forgot that he had married the most amazing man on the entire planet.

“How did the meeting with the minister of agriculture go?” Sokka immediately asked him, before the door closed at his back. His voice came from their shared bathroom, but it was still clear as day, bouncing off the tiles and straight into Zuko’s working ear. ‘ _Now_ ,’ he thought, as a smile took hold of his face while he closed his eyes and rested his head against the door, enjoying the calm feeling that permeated his bones every time his husband spoke, ‘ _now I’m fine._ ’

He heard some shuffling come from the bathroom, his mind already thinking about the possibilities of what the sounds might mean, when he replied, eyes still closed: “It dragged on longer than intended, but we managed to resolve the issue that had been brought up yesterday.” Zuko immediately began to unwrap his belt, taking off his outer layer and placing it on a nearby chair as he rolled his back muscles and stretched, enjoying the freedom of movement now that some of his constricting clothes were off of his body.

The full Fire Lord attire was too heavy to wear on an everyday basis, but he still had to make appearances, besides it maintained him warm during the colder days. He wished he could just don a pair of pants and a loose shirt, despite the weather, just like his husband did for most of his meetings regardless of the season, but, unlike him, Zuko wasn’t keen on the cold air that the Capital had during winter. He still buried himself under three parkas whenever they visited the South or the North, after all. Hakoda would always meet them at the docks with as many layers as possible for Zuko whenever they came down and Bato would always tease his son in law about bundling under all the layers he could, which made him walk like a penguin-otter.

Zuko wouldn’t trade his acquired family for anything else in the world.

He walked the short distance to their bed with his head lost in the memories of their last trip. It had been too long since they had found themselves away from the Fire Nation and the last month had been erratic. Perhaps some stress relief was due, he thought, mentally beginning to plan for the upcoming summer.

No matter how much he loved Sokka and how much he enjoyed his time at the South Pole, there would be not a single spirit in the world able to possess him to take a trip there in the middle of the winter.

Zuko launched himself on the bed just as Sokka emerged from the bathroom at his left. Despite how tender and cautious Uncle Iroh had been, all those years back, he still hadn’t regained his peripheral view from the scarred eye, but he wasn’t scared of his weak spot anymore. Not when he knew that Sokka was always there by his side.

He turned his head to the side, wanting to see his husband’s beautiful face, only to be greeted with the sight of the toiletry bag Sokka was hunched over, placing bottles and combs and tiny jars in.

Zuko had, in the span of a single heartbeat, two reactions, in that precise order: his first one was confusion, _‘Couldn’t he ask one of the servants to do that?_ ’ he thought, having lived most of his life inside the palace and slowly taking back the habit of having someone help him with tasks; the second was a simple one, _‘Why is Sokka packing?’_

Realisation hit him just as one of Toph’s blows, right in his chest, disarming and soon followed by pure panic as he checked whether or not he was still alive. He immediately sat up and, for the first time since he had entered, he looked around the room. The door that led to their closet was open and Zuko could see several items had been taken off the shelves and hangers from Sokka’s side, through the visible sliver of the adjacent room. There were bags packed by their tea table, waiting to be picked up and brought to a ship or to an airship.

Time seemed to slow down, stop dead in its tracks, as he turned around to face his husband. Despite his best intentions, dark thoughts began to crawl up his head. Had he forgotten something? Why was he packing? Was he leaving? Had Zuko done something wrong?

Sokka, for his part, was unfazed, delicately wrapping a bottle of ointments in some scraps of cotton, to avoid it spilling inside the bag during whatever trip he was apparently taking. He had a quiet smile on his lips as he hummed along a Southern song, content and peaceful.

If he was truly leaving Zuko, he wouldn’t be so calm now, would he?

“Why are you packing?” he casually asked, pretending that the sight hadn’t affected him. One thing would be for him to panic at a sudden leave, an emergency reunion or an unsuspected call back home, but he knew that Sokka would’ve interrupted his meetings for something so important. A completely different matter was if he had truly forgotten something as crucial as a departure, which would make Sokka’s smugness unbearable. He would start to go around telling him how he only forgot it because he was too stressed and without enough time to sleep properly, which was true, but it would also mean Sokka activating his ‘ _mother turtle-duck’_ attitude, effectively never leaving the Fire Lord’s side to check hourly if he had eaten and drank and slept.

Which Sokka already pretty much did, but at least he was subtle about it!

His husband looked at him with nothing but love in his eyes as his smile turned into a smirk and it was in that moment that Zuko knew he had made a mistake. He mentally ran through all the possible events and occasions that still had to happen: was it someone’s birthday? Had they been invited to a celebration or to a meeting?

Before he was able to find out what was missing from his mind, Sokka walked in front of him, settling in between his legs and carefully cradling his head in his hands, removing the headpiece and massaging his tired scalp. “Why do you think I’m packing?” he asked, lowering to plant a kiss on Zuko’s head as he moved his hands to stay on his shoulders, steady and reassuring.

He shrugged, nonchalantly, pretending that his was a simple question about the logistics of packing, instead of a lack of knowledge at the destination.

“I don’t know, you could’ve just asked someone to do it.”

Sokka laughed at that, throwing his head back as his entire body shook, before he kneeled in front of the Fire Lord to place a chaste kiss on his lips. Zuko pressed back immediately, wrapping his hands around his torso and drawing him near and close.

Kissing Sokka was one of Zuko’s favourite activities in the entire world. He remembered vividly the first time it had happened: they had been sparing for the entire afternoon, after one of his former councilmen had managed to irritate both of them with a simple sentence, and they had both needed to get the tension out of their bodies; during their session, Zuko had loosened his hair down and Sokka had taken off his shirt, unknowing of how distracting that had been; tiredness came over both of them once their anger had loosened and so they both became clumsy, Zuko more than usual, since every time he would lounge to attack he would meet a naked chest, which led to him tripping over and Sokka following suit; and then they had laid one on top of the other, regaining their breaths and staring in each other’s eyes.

To this day, Zuko still didn’t know who had initiated the kiss, leaning forward and closing the distance in between their faces, but he knew that he had been the one to flee the scene, terrified of his own actions.

It took them two days, Mai’s cleverness and Toph’s bluntness to confront and talk to each other, which quickly led to a full make-out session in the middle of the council room mere minutes before a meeting with all of the Ambassadors.

Zuko smiled fondly at the memory, tilting his head and deepening the kiss they were sharing. But Sokka pulled slightly back, placing a quick kiss over the tip of his nose, before he sing-sang directly to his face: “My beloved dumbass, you totally forgot!”

“I’m the Fire Lord, I don’t forget anything!” he retorted back, trying to defend himself from the insufferable attitude his husband had whenever he managed to get the high ground, be it in a prank, or when they sword-bended, or when he caught Zuko sneaking away from his Fire Lord duties with a basket in his hand for an impromptu picnic on the rooftops as the Sun settled on the days of the Full Moon.

But he knew, deep down, where his pride would concede immediately without putting a fight, that there was no need to win. He had already won everything, after all, the moment Sokka accepted his headpiece and his necklace, carefully crafted under Bato and Hakoda’s eyes, both swelled with pride and love at their new son.

And so, he sighed, closing his eyes and resting his head on his husband’s chest, loving the warmth that he radiated. “I might need an occasional reminder?” he asked, as Sokka ran his hand through his hair gently, untangling the strands in a way that calmed Zuko whenever anything else seemed to work.

“My Sun, my beloved, my hot-man,” he began over the top of his head, after having placed another kiss over the scalp. Zuko couldn’t help himself but try to untangle from their close embrace, indignantly looked up at him with fire in his eyes, muttering a quick “I’m gonna behead Aang for that,”, before Sokka placated him again, shushing him with another kiss.

“Please don’t interrupt the master while he composes, besides you can’t behead him, Katara will whoop your ass,” he said completely unfazed, causing Zuko to burst into a fit of giggles at how childish the man he married could be. “As I was saying, my awkward turtle-duck, you have taken too much work, you need to rest! Besides, YOU,” he claimed, planting his finger in the middle of Zuko’s chest, for emphasis, “you planned our upcoming vacation to Ember Island.”

Zuko just looked at him as if he had miraculously acquired bending abilities. He racked through his brain and memory, looking for the culprit piece of information that was missing, but nothing seemed to click.

“I can assure you that I would never organize any departure on a Sunday,” he claimed, because it was the only reasonable thing to say. If they truly were to leave the next day, which Zuko still wasn’t in the clear of, they would wait for Monday. After all, Sundays were a day of resting in the entire Fire Nation, and one of the only days in which the Fire Lord could stay in bed longer than acceptable, wrapped in the arms of his husband.

“I have just moved the date a little bit, yesterday. You’ve worked yourself to the bone and earned some extra days in our vacation, my darling. Besides, this means I get to cuddle you longer!” was the only explanation he was given, followed by a simple shrug of his husband’s shoulders. Still, Zuko couldn’t help himself but be lost at what was happening. While it was true, that he was tirelessly working on and on, he had no recollection of making plans to leave the Capital.

Sokka, Agni bless him, understood perfectly his situation. He simply took his hand in his, brushing his thumbs over their back. “Last month, my love, you stormed out of the council room yelling “ _You have less than a month to do these changes, not one day more, cause otherwise I’ll have my sister and Lady Mai do them, without having to deal with your stupid homophobic crap!_ ’ at minister Hara when he complained about the military budget getting smaller in favour of the education one and when he dragged the meeting past its time because of it. And then you ran into my office and all but told me _“In a month, Ember Island, you, me and no clothes for a week!_ ” Do you remember now, Your Majesty?”

“I didn’t call him homophobic,” it was all Zuko could say, because he actually remembered. He had had his assistant make the arrangement the following day and, since it was already done and Azula had already been there to witness the scene, Zuko hadn’t bothered checking up afterwards. Which was how his mind had slipped the information away.

Sokka just dug his head on his right shoulder, scooting over and speaking directly against his bare neck, where his own necklace stood: “I know, but you wanted to. He is pretty homophobic.”

“Fair enough,” Zuko conceded, resting his chin on top of Sokka’s head, scanning with his eyes the rest of the room, looking for other clues that he might have missed, although there was nothing to be found other than his initial sights. He puzzledly stared at the two small bags near the table. While he wanted to be true to his promise of ‘ _no clothes’_ , he also knew that the winter air, even in a place such as Ember Island, could be very unforgiving, especially to Sokka’s leg, that cracked and pained him whenever the temperatures dropped drastically.

“Did you already pack everything up?” he asked when Sokka entangled himself out of their embrace to finish with their toiletries bag.

“Yup!”

“And did you pack my…” Zuko said, but his husband just intercepted him, finishing the question for him: “Your favourite beach towel and your favourite pair of swim trunks and your favourite shirts that are mine, but you fill best and that I love to see you in. Yes, I did. I also packed the special lotion for your scars, so that you don’t get them irritated under the Sun, and your hormones are already sealed in one of the bags,” he said, without even looking up as he closed the bag and moved it on their dresser, scratching it off a note that Zuko had somehow missed, leaning on the mirror.

Sokka always had notes and lists, all over the palace. His husband was the most intelligent man in the entire world, a brilliant poet and painter and swordsman and inventor, but he sometimes lacked the clear structure of thinking that the former Fire Lord had drilled in Zuko’s mind. Sokka jumped from project to project with ease whenever his attention shifted, but he also had days in which he barely did all of the things that brought him joy, unless he wrote a list of his needed activities and chosen past-times. And he left notes everywhere, little doodles or messages for his husband here and there, during those days in which he wasn’t talkative, in which he barely had the strength to get out of bed and eat.

And, since Zuko was an equally amazing husband, he would always postpone his own meetings whenever Sokka’s day turned sour, just laying in bed with his beloved in his arms, letting him deal with his mind while trying to comfort him, sometimes only with his presence. There were days in which Sokka would ask him to talk, to tell him the tales of his childhood for the hundredth of times, or to recount the plot of a play, staying in silence and letting his husband’s voice soothe whatever spirit was toying with his brain. Other times, Zuko listened carefully to whatever story Sokka felt like giving him, letting him talk his ear off, holding him gently by the hand, a constant reminder that he was there, that he would be there. Forever.

When Sokka turned around and walked back in between Zuko’s legs, he had a glint of mischief in his eyes. And, indeed, he spoke: “I also hid your _‘you know what’_ in between our underwear.”

“Sokka!” Zuko yelled back, shocked and amazed and shameful: he knew that, once they arrived at their residence on the island, servants would take care of their luggage, unless they asked them not to.

He was hoping that his husband would do the asking, since his careless mind would undoubtedly forget that little detail, causing him to combust on the spot when someone else found what his husband had hidden.

“Don’t you worry about a thing, my Sun. I will take good care of you,” Sokka winked at him, causing him to shake his head in disbelief as his husband took both of his hands in his again. “Now, bath before we call it a night and go to sleep?” he asked, helping him get to his feet and casually kissing both of his cheeks languidly, always so delicate and mindful around his scar.

Zuko couldn’t help himself but kiss him again, leaning forward and capturing his lips as they stumbled towards the bathroom: “You remind me every day of why I’m in love with you,” he said, truthfully, feeling Sokka’s responsive smile in return.

Still, there wasn’t a single comeback and comment that his husband didn’t make. And, indeed, Sokka retorted back, pulling his body away from his and laughing: “Flameo!”

“I’ve changed my mind.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading!  
> please don't forget to leave a kudo and comment!  
> BTW the 'you know what' Sokka hid is a strap on :)  
> Thank you again, Pipa, for the wonderful prompt, and thank you to all the mods of the server for getting this beautiful exchange going, you guys are the best!  
> till next time,  
> Jo


End file.
